Marsh Family sings 'Silicon Valley' plus International Tiger Day

I promised a song by the Marsh Family for today. Watch and listen to "Silicon Valley" - Marsh Family arrangement of traditional American folk song "Down in the Valley".

‘Down in the Valley’ – sometimes also known as ‘Birmingham Jail’ – is a traditional American folk song that was circulating in earnest in the 1920s. Versions have been recorded by a huge set of music icons, with our favourites including those of Pete Seeger, Tex Ritter, the Blue Ridge Mountain Boys, Solomon Burke, and a Glen Campbell version which encouraged us to include modulations up a perfect fourth cos they’re very uplifting.

The song comes from a deep heritage mixing English, Irish, Scottish, Appalachian, and Ozark influences, with its distinctive mournful (perhaps jailhouse) waltz. For our version we’ve stepped away from a love ballad, but there is a lament in the arrangement and it hopefully feels resonant of US pioneer history. It contemplates how some of the more progressive ideas that were kindled by early generations of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have been flamboyantly cast aside by the latest cohort, as they move aggressively to embrace a different set of values – scrabbling for an ever-more concentrated and destructive matrix of resources and power, while backfilling flimsy self-oriented rationales. Not that US tech or Silicon Valley didn’t always have its fair share of corporate greed, competition, and self-promotion, but there was often at least a veneer of social conscience, environmental mindfulness, techno-altruism, and a kind of confidence and coolness that the current crop of tech bros have lost, as they suck at whatever teat will fit with their fantasies of deregulation, accumulation, and self-glorification.

The lyrics referencing The Lord of the Rings remind me of Vox asking 'What would J.R.R. Tolkien think of Palantir?' "[C]yberpunk villain ideas straight out of Snow Crash" and "bad readings of classic fantasy." Also, William Shockley serves as a cautionary tale that Silicon Valley has seen brilliant people go bad in similar ways before.

As for the techbros resembling Bond villains, I've said that before, writing "Musk thinks he's Tony Stark (the "real-life Iron Man"), but he's really a Bond villain, specifically a cooler version of Hugo Drax." I also reacted to a video that is no longer available by referring to a parody of a 007 villain.

That was a hilarious impression of Jeff Bezos as Dr. Evil listing villains both billionaires should be compared to. The only one I thought the DJ missed was Lex Luthor. After all, the same actor has played both Zuckerberg and Luthor.

Just to complete the circle back to The Lord of the Rings, I did so in Colbert and others have a good laugh at Zuckerberg saying his employees call him 'Sauron'. I think Meta's employees are on to something.

Today is International Tiger Day, so I'm closing with International Tiger Day by National Day Calendar.

Ready to protect nature’s top jungle predators? On this episode of National Day Spotlight (https://nationaldaycalendar.com/), Marlo Anderson (https://marloanderson.com/) and co-host Alice Anderson are looking to conservation efforts for International Tiger Day... They’ll focus on vanishing wild habitats and the global efforts underway to ensure a safe future for these animals of majestic stripes. Tune in for an inspiring look at wilderness protection!

I'm not done with environmental holidays, as tomorrow is Earth Overshoot Day for 2026. I'll mention it, but I think it will play second fiddle to the Emmy Awards. Americans are quite clear about our screwed-up priorities, and I'm an American. Stay tuned.

Elon Musk examined by John Oliver

I should have suspected that John Oliver would mention Tesla recalling 2 million cars because of autopilot issues, but I didn't expect an entire episode devoted to Elon Musk.

John Oliver discusses Elon Musk, the influence he has over more than just his businesses, and the perfect place for him and Mark Zuckerberg to finally have that cage match.

Wow! That's a lot to examine about Musk, from PayPal to SpaceX, Tesla, StarLink, and Twitter. I'll just begin by saying that Musk thinks he's Tony Stark (the "real-life Iron Man"), but he's really a Bond villain, specifically a cooler version of Hugo Drax. At least he's cooler than someone in the movies.

I'm in the middle of giving and grading final exams, so I'm going to leave it here for today. See you tomorrow!

Duran Duran sings 'Psycho Killer' and other spooky songs for Halloween

Happy Candy Corn Day, when I usually blog about monsters. I'll do that tomorrow. Today, I want to share some music with my readers. Watch shuttermuze's Duran Duran Halloween Show - Psycho Killer (Encore Theatre at the Wynn, Las Vegas) October 31, 2022.


Duran Duran in costume playing Talking Heads on Halloween — I couldn't resist. Talking Heads is one of my favorite bands — (Nothing but) Flowers is the theme song for this blog, after all — and my opinion of Duran Duran has grown over the decades. Forty years ago, I thought they were a band of pretty boys who sang shallow dance-pop songs. Not for me. Then I learned two things about them that made me respect them more. First, my friends and I watched Barbarella together. When the villain introduced himself as Durand-Durand, we all looked at each other and thought, "no way." Yes, way. I listened to a radio interview of Simon Le Bon, who confirmed that the band had indeed taken their name from the character. Score one for a unique inspiration. In that same interview, Le Bon said that Duran Duran wanted to be to video what Pink Floyd was to stereo, the first to explore the technology to the fullest. The band had greater artistic aspirations than I had given them credit for. Score two. Since then, I've been a fan. It helped that they performed the title song to a James Bond film, View to a Kill, which earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song - Motion Picture. Good song, but not a great Bond flick; geology makes for a poor mad science.

Follow over the jump for live performances of two original songs for the album.

'Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy' defends its Emmy for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special

I'm resuming my Emmy Awards nominations coverage by looking at Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, which won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special last year. It's defending its category against two returning nominees and two newcomers.

Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special (Area)
The Light We Carry: Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey (Netflix)
My Next Guest with David Letterman and Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Netflix)
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy (CNN)
Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (Hulu)
United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell (CNN)

Three of these nominees examine politics and government, two of my angles when examining awards shows, The Light We Carry: Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey, My Next Guest with David Letterman and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell. The other two, Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy and Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi, are food and travel shows that might touch on politics and government by accident. While I'm rooting for United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell, Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy is the two-time returning winner, the only nominee with multiple nominations (four, including Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program, Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program, and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction Program (Single or Multi-Camera) in addition to the nomination for the series itself), and the one that the experts at Gold Derby think will win. That's followed by My Next Guest with David Letterman and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell, currently tied for second place, and The Light We Carry: Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey and Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi tied f for fourth. Based on those criteria, I'm predicting that Tucci and his producers will walk away with the Emmy statuette whenever the Television Academy holds the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremonies. Those are currently scheduled for September 9–10, 2023, but may be postponed because of the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. I hope that doesn't happen, but wouldn't be surprised if it did.

In any event, here is the trailer for season 3 of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy from SBS Australia.

Academy Award nominee Stanley Tucci travels across Italy to discover the secrets and delights of the country's regional cuisines.

Looks like well-made fun, so I'm not surprised it's the returning winner and current favorite.

Follow over the jump for the rest of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy's nominations and its competitors in those categories.

Michelle Yeoh is Time's 2022 Icon of the Year

After lots of buildup, I'm finally posting about Michelle Yeoh: TIME Icon of the Year 2022.

Since making her debut in Hong Kong action films in the mid-’80s, the now 60-year-old Michelle Yeoh has battled Jet Li in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, flung herself onto a moving car driven by Jackie Chan in Supercop, and jumped off a skyscraper with Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond in Tomorrow Never Dies. She had major roles in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Memoirs of a Geisha; and Crazy Rich Asians. She’s done Marvel, Star Trek, Kung Fu Panda, Minions—Avatar, Transformers, and The Witcher are next. But, until Everything Everywhere All at Once, which premiered in March, she had never been No. 1 on a Hollywood call sheet.

She’s clear about why: Asian actors have long been given stereotypical or inconsequential roles, and rarely top billing. “It shouldn’t be about my race, but it has been a battle,” she says, golden baubles on her jacket clanging as she mimics elbowing her way through a crowd. “At least let me try.”

Which is why the role of Evelyn Wang in Everything Everywhere All at Once was such a revelation. In the hit art-house film directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (known as Daniels), Yeoh is an overworked, over-burdened immigrant wife and mother facing an IRS audit of the family laundromat when, suddenly, everything changes. She learns that there are multiple versions of the universe, and they’re all facing a threat that only she can stop—if she can figure out how to jump between different realities and pick up skills possessed by different versions of herself. Yeoh has the opportunity to showcase all of her talents—as a martial artist but also, in portraying Evelyn’s deep love for her family, even as she struggles to communicate with them, her abilities as a dramatic actor. It’s a shift for the actor, who toggles between wacky sequences, like a world where humans have hot dogs for fingers, and intimate moments. “She usually plays masters, tough fighters,” says Jet Li. “The action—I know she can do it. But really acting from the heart, believing the part, makes the movie very special.”

Congratulations! It's about time Yeoh got the recognition she deserves. Now to see if she wins at the Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards and gets an Oscar nomination for "Everything Everywhere All at Once."

Yeoh had more to say about her stunt work in The Biggest Lesson Michelle Yeoh Learned Early in Her Career in Hong Kong.

Before Michelle Yeoh became a celebrated Hollywood star, she was an action star in the rough-and-tumble world of Hong Kong action movies.

Those roles were incredibly physically demanding and could even be dangerous, she recalled Thursday at TIME’s 2022 Person of the Year reception in New York City. The experience taught her to take risks and not be afraid of failure. And she credits that for her success now.

I was thrilled to see Yeoh in the first two episodes of "Star Trek: Discovery" and was disappointed to watch her prime universe version die. However, I was thrilled enough to see her Mirror Universe version appear and return to the series, enough so to vote for her in Best Guest-Starring Performance on Television at the Saturn Awards. I was even more impressed to watch her do her own stunts in a fight scene. I don't care if its for show; I would not ever want to get in a fight with her, even if I'm twice her size!

Follow over the jump for my commentary on the categories won by "Everything Everywhere All at Once" at the Saturn Awards.

'Summer of Soul,' 'Dune,' 'Soul,' Billie Eilish, and Bo Burnham all winners at the Oscars and Grammys for a late National Film Score Day

A belated happy National Film Score Day! I'm using the occasion to recognize the music winners at the Academy Awards and the visual media winners at last night's Grammy Awards, beginning with "Summer of Soul," my pick for best documentary of 2021. Watch QUESTLOVE, DAVID DINERSTEIN, ROBERT FYVOLENT & JOSEPH PATEL Win Best Music Film for Summer of Soul from the Recording Academy/GRAMMYS.

Watch Questlove, David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent & Joseph Patel's acceptance speech for Best Music Film for Summer of Soul.

Questlove made sure that his speech celebrated the musicians, as was appropriate for the Grammys.

For a more in-depth response, watch Variety's ‘Summer of Soul’ Best Documentary Feature Full Backstage Oscars Speech.

‘Summer of Soul’ documentarians on their love of music, how to know to hold on and not give up project, releasing on streaming after Sundance 2021, the importance of films that celebrate Black history, and what lineup they would want to see today.

Congratulations to Questlove, Dinerstein, Fyvolent, and especially Patel, who made the point that this film was a celebration of diversity in more ways than one!

Follow over the jump for the rest of the winners nominated at the Grammys and either the Oscars or the Emmys.

'Shang-Chi' vs. 'Spider-Man' among movie nominees at the 2022 Critics' Choice Super Awards

Two weeks ago, I wrote "I'd normally be all awards shows all the time now... but I'm just not feeling it...my interest is starting to wane" in CNBC explores 'Why The Future Of The Oscars And Emmys Might Be In Jeopardy'. That's because I haven't watch enough of the nominated films to have good opinions of their prospects. That's not true of the nominees for the Second Annual Critics Choice Super Awards, the subject of today's Sunday entertainment feature. I've watched most of them and have strong opinions about them.


I begin with the summary of the top movie nominees from the press release.

“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” lead this year’s film nominations, with five nods apiece including Best Superhero Movie. Both Tony Leung and Simu Liu garnered Best Actor in a Superhero Movie nods for their performances in “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” while Michelle Yeoh is up for Best Actress in a Superhero Movie, and Tony Leung could also take home the award for Best Villain in a Movie. The cast of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” also earned top acting nods, with both Tom Holland and Andrew Garfield recognized with Best Actor in a Superhero Movie nominations. Additionally, Zendaya is up for Best Actress in a Superhero Movie, and Willem Dafoe could take home the trophy for Best Villain in a Movie.

Even without tallying the nominations, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home” are my co-favorites for winning this award. I might lean to "Shang-Chi" if I were a voter, but “Spider-Man: No Way Home” is literally the popular choice and the Critics Choice Association (CCA) might just agree, despite them not nominating the film at the main awards tonight while nominating "Shang-Chi" for Best Visual Effects. As for the other nominees, they should just be happy to be nominated, particularly "Zack Snyder’s Justice League," which was only on streaming. At least it wasn't "Thunder Force," which was more fun than I expected, but neither bad enough for the Razzies nor good enough to be nominated for any award of merit. That might change with the next Saturn Awards nominations, which might have the eligibility period end before the release date of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” or if it doesn't, have "Thunder Force" and "Zack Snyder’s Justice League" earn nominations for Best Film Presentation on Streaming Media, should they keep that category. I never know with them, and I'm one of their voters!


I can pick Best Actor in a Superhero Movie two ways. For best overall actor, I'd choose Idris Elba and Andrew Garfield. However, this is really best performance by an actor in a superhero movie and I suspect Simu Liu and Tom Holland gave those. I would vote for Liu, but I'm not in the CCA. They might go for Holland or Garfield. That John Cena earned a nomination shows that he's punching above his weight as an actor, if not in real life. I think it bodes well for his nomination prospects for "Peacemaker," where he is the star.

The same dichotomy applies to Best Actress in a Superhero Movie. I think the best overall best actresses are Margot Robbie, who won for the same role in "Birds of Prey" last year, Michelle Yeoh, and Emmy winner Zendaya. For the best performances, I'd say it's between Robbie and Zendaya. I'd vote for Robbie, but if there is a wave for "Spider-Man: No Way Home," it will sweep Zendaya to the podium.

Follow over the jump for the rest of the movie nominees.

Politics, government, and diversity among movie nominees at the 2022 Golden Globes

I told my readers to "Stay tuned for part two featuring the movie nominees, which will be the Sunday entertainment feature" in part 1 yesterday, so here are the film nominations at tonight's ceremony without stars with handicaps of their chances to win along with analyses of their politics and government content served with side helpings of how well they present diversity.

Best Motion Picture: Drama

Belfast
CODA
Dune
King Richard
The Power of the Dog

This category includes both of the most nominated films, "Belfast" and "The Power of the Dog" with seven nominations each. The former is more political, as it takes place in Northern Ireland during the 1960s, when The Troubles started to escalate, while the latter is more personal, although both are primarily family dramas. The same is true of the next most nominated drama film, "King Richard," with four nominations, although it's also a sports story with a strong element of racial diversity, so social commentary is an important element, if not the dominant one. Skipping to the nominee with the fewest nominations, two, "CODA" is another family drama that explores another axis of diversity, ability, and includes social commentary. My personal favorite is "Dune" with three nominations. As I wrote on TV Talk Show Host Day, it features a lot of futuristic politics and political allegory in its science fiction. "Dune" probably also features a racially diverse cast.

I think it's between "Belfast" and "The Power of the Dog" for this award, with the edge going to "Belfast." This is an international film and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) is voting, so I think that might be enough. As I reiterate whenever I write about awards programs, electorates matter. Speaking of which, the Motion Picture Academy might favor "The Power of the Dog" while a vote of the general audience would probably pick "Dune," the only nominee also nominated at the People's Choice Awards.

Best Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy

Cyrano
Don't Look Up
Licorice Pizza
tick, tick... BOOM!
West Side Story

"Don't Look Up," "Licorice Pizza," and "West Side Story" all tie for the most nominated comedy or musical with four nominations each. The most political is "Don't Look Up," which uses a comet impact as a metaphor for the reaction to and inaction about climate change. This is right up my alley and I plan on writing an entry concentrating on the film. While it's my favorite, it's not my pick to win unless the HFPA really wants to make a political statement. Instead, I think "West Side Story" has the inside track. I've heard and read nothing but good things about it other than its disappointing box office and some quibbles about its representation of Puerto Ricans, which still makes it the most diverse among nominated comedies and musicals. That's too bad for "Licorice Pizza," which takes place where I grew up from the perspective of someone near my age at the time and which has a campaign of Los Angeles Mayor as part of the plot. I think I'd like to watch that.

"Cyrano" and "tick, tick... BOOM!" both have two nominations. The former, like "West Side Story," is an updated adaptation of a classic, while the latter is a biography of the creator of "Rent." I think that might play better with the Hollywood creators than it would with the HFPA.

Best Animated Feature

Encanto
Flee
Luca
My Sunny Maad
Raya and the Last Dragon

I decided to move both Best Animated Feature and Best Foreign Language Film up here so that all of nominations of films instead of individuals would all be together at the head of the post instead of being last on the list. I think that gives them the credit they're due.

"Encanto" is the only nominee with more than one nomination in this field, three, so I consider it the odds-on favorite. Its main competition is probably "Flee," which beat "Summer of Soul" at the Gotham Independent Film Awards in the documentary feature category. It's also on the shortlist for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars, making "Flee" a triple threat.

All of the nominees feature diversity, although in the case of "Luca," it's fantastic instead of realistic. "Raya and the Last Dragon" also features fantastic politics and government, while both "Flee" and "My Sunny Maad" have animated takes on the political situation in Afghanistan.

Best Foreign Language Film

Compartment No. 6 (Finland)
Drive My Car (Japan)
The Hand of God (Italy)
A Hero (Iran)
Parallel Mothers (Spain)

Only "Parallel Mothers" has more than one nomination with the other for Best Original Score, so I would say it's the nominal favorite. However, the Motion Picture Academy did not put it on the shortlist for Best International Feature Film, so that might dull its edge. On the other hand, all the rest of the nominees did make that shortlist. Again, electorates matter.

Follow over the jump for the individual nominations, both for actors and the people behind the camera.

Death of Bond songwriter Chris Cornell inspires dark tourism in Detroit

The loss of Roger Moore earlier this week was not the only recent death related to James Bond.  The week before, WXYZ reported "Casino Royale" singer/songwriter Chris Cornell died in Detroit.



That wasn't the end of the story.  This week, WXYZ reported there were already People trying to book hotel room where Chris Cornell died.


I'm not surprised, both as an expatriate Angelino and a current Detroiter.  As the former, I know that nothing enshrines a celebrity like a tragic death.  As for the latter, I've learned that Detroit has taste for the macabre.  Also, I'm with Carolyn Clifford; there is a name for everything, and "dark tourism" belongs right up there with ruin porn as a theme for Detroit tourism.  Speaking of which, Kim Russell did a good job of listing famous deaths in Detroit, especially that of Harry Houdini.  What she didn't mention about Houdini was that he died on Halloween.  That's the kind of spooky detail one can't make up.

I'm leaving my readers with Cornell's claim to Bond fame, "You Know My Name," Cornell's theme song for "Casino Royale."


R.I.P.

R.I.P. Roger Moore

Almost five years ago, I explained why I blog about James Bond.

First, this blog is about science fiction as much as it is about collapse.  In that vein, the James Bond movies, even more so than the books, qualify, as they are really science fiction films set 20 minutes into the future.  As science fiction, the films both celebrate the latest technology and explore in a very escapist fashion a current technological, scientific, or even environmental issue that is a source of societal anxiety.  Keeping that ambivalence in mind while watching a Bond film makes it a more intellectually interesting experience, at least for me.  See if it works for you, too.

Second, Bond has averted the near total extinction of humanity at least twice, as well as defused other situations that could have resulted in World War III several other times.  Because of these 'good deeds,' he qualifies as an honorary Crazy Eddie.  That alone makes the films worthy of discussion.

Both of those times that Bond saved humanity happened when Roger Moore played the role, first in "The Spy Who Loved Me" and again in "Moonraker," the two films in the franchise that are most obviously science fiction and therefore two of my favorite Bond outings.  Thus it is with sadness that I pass along CNN's James Bond actor Roger Moore dies.

Roger Moore, who gained worldwide stardom playing James Bond in seven installments of the franchise, died at the age of 89. CNN's Sara Sidner looks back at his life and career.

Speaking of Moore's wit and smooth delivery, CNN shared some of Roger Moore's best James Bond one-liners.

Sir Roger Moore portrayed the character of James Bond in seven "007" films with a biting wit all his own.

Bond lives on, but his funniest actor has passed.  R.I.P.

2016 Saturn Awards for Movies, part 1: Films

I concluded 2016 Saturn Awards for Television with "I have to say that this past year has been a very good one for speculative fiction and other genre entertainment.  That is even more true with the movies, which I'll write about next week.  Stay tuned."  Next week has arrived and with it my post on the movie nominations.

Like last week, I begin with the 42nd Annual Saturn Awards - Movie Nominations.

VOTE for your favorites, become a Saturn Awards Affiliate Member...
[UPDATE to NOMINATIONS]
Dear Friends of the Saturn Awards:

It has been an exciting time for all genre fans with the release of this year’s Saturn Awards nominations. After careful consideration, we are making an adjustment on our nomination list. We are moving actor John Boyega to the category of Best Actor in a Film. This more correctly reflects his contributions to the success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We all look forward to voting and honoring the best in genre entertainment.

I wasn't keeping count, but Wikipedia was, and it found "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" the most nominated movie with 15 nominations.  Among the science fiction films, "Mad Max: Fury Road" earned ten, "Jurassic World" had eight, and "Ex Machina" and "The Martian" each had six.

Follow over the jump for my opinions of the nominees and which ones I currently intend to vote for.

'Songs about something' and music scores at the Oscars

I recycled Infidel753's comment along with my response at the end of Speculative fiction at the 2016 Razzie Awards.

I hope Lady Gaga wins the best song Oscar, though. I've always liked her. Like Fifty Shades, she offends those people whom, as John Cleese put it, one would truly wish to offend.

Speaking of Lady Gaga, I'll follow up on the music nominees tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

It's tomorrow, so it's time to revisit the nominees for Best Original Song I first mentioned in The songs really are the best part of 'Fifty Shades of Grey'.

First, I invite my readers to Listen To The Oscars’ Best Original Song Nominees along with commentary about each of them from NPR's "Here and Now."  In particular, I want to direct their attention to an observation by guest Mason Daring, a professor of film scoring at Berklee College of Music, a composer of dozens of soundtracks, and a voting member of the music branch.  He noted that this year's batch of nominees had two songs from documentaries (“Til It Happens To You” from “The Hunting Ground” and “Manta Ray” from “Racing Extinction”) but no songs from animated musicals.  He called those two pieces "songs about something" and thought they were the signs of changing times, as he said this was "a year that things matter."  The changing times might affect the chances of what would normally be the favorite, "Writing's on the Wall" from "Spectre," which won the Golden Globe in this category.  Daring opined that a Bond song would normally be a lock, but maybe not this year.

That uncertainty is reflected in the predictions.  FiveThirtyEight included the category in Every Oscar Prediction We Could Find.

Goegan says “Writing’s on the Wall” from “Spectre.” Paddy Power’s favorite is “Til It Happens To You” from “The Hunting Ground,” with 2-to-5 odds.

New York Magazine's Vulture came to a similar conclusion in Vulture’s Final 2016 Oscar Predictions for Every Category.

The best song in this category is "Earned It," but there is no way on Earth that the Academy is going to give an Oscar to Fifty Shades of Grey. Lady Gaga has been promoting her song from The Hunting Ground with a vengeance, and I suspect "Til It Happens to You" has the advantage because of it.

Finally, Predictwise gives Lady Gaga and Diane Warren's song a 68% chance of winning.  "Writing's on the Wall" comes in second at 12%, "Simple Song #3" and "Earned It" are tied at 9%, and "Manta Ray" has a 2% chance of winning.  Based on those odds, plus Lady Gaga's star Power and Warren's many previous nominations with no wins, my head agrees "Til It Happens to You" will win, although my heart is with "Manta Ray" and "Writing's on the Wall."

Follow over the jump for my thoughts on the nominated music scores.

'The Hateful Eight' and 'Spectre' win music awards at the Golden Globes

I've been teasing an entry about the music nominees at the Golden Globes since Music for moving pictures at the 58th Grammy Awards.  I put it off in Drinks for People's Choice movie winners and then promised it again at the end of 'The Martian' wins two Golden Globes.  It's time to follow through.

First, the nominees:

Best original song
"One Kind of Love," "Love & Mercy"
"Simple Song #3," "Youth"
"See You Again," "Furious 7"
"Love Me Like You Do," "50 Shades of Grey"
"Writing's on the Wall," "Spectre"
...
Best original score — motion picture

“Carol”
“The Danish Girl”
“The Revenant”
Ennio Morricone, “The Hateful Eight”
“Steve Jobs”

At least this year the Hollywood Foreign Press Association did not nominate a song from the Hunger Games movies, as they had the past three years.  I guess the combination of "Fifty Shades Of Grey," "Furious 7," and another James Bond movie were enough to crowd another nominee out.  Good, as I found most of those songs to be inferior compared to the competition.  Also, this is the first look at which scores might contend for the Oscar.

Enough about the nominees.  The winners are...

Sam Smith Wins Best Original Song for "Writings On The Wall" | Golden Globe 2016


That was brief.  I think that's the only clip in which the winners didn't have to be told to hurry up.

Quentin Tarantino took longer when he accepted the award for Ennio Morricone Winning Best Original Score at the 2016 Golden Globes.

The Hateful Eight director Quentin Tarantino accepts the award for Best Original Score at the 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Ennio Morricone and Quentin Tarantino--that's almost too perfect a match, especially for Tarantino's take on a spaghetti Western.

Follow over the jump for music nominations from Critics' Choice and BAFTA awards as well as a look back at the Grammys along with what I think they portend for the Oscar nominees.

A song for The Golden Gun

I'm not done with Americans love of guns.  I saw the above cartoon at Jobsanger and left the following comment in response.

I have just the song for this cartoon: The Man with the Golden Gun Opening Title Sequence. The visuals are appropriately phallic.

Here's the video.

The Man With The Golden Gun performed by Lulu.

Scaramanga approves.

Katniss Everdeen dethrones James Bond at the U.S. box office

Two weeks ago, "SPECTRE" knocked "The Martian" out of number one at the U.S. box office.  This week, it was Katniss Everdeen's turn to assassinate James Bond as "The Hunger Games" Mockingjay-Part 2" came in first, handily outpacing "SPECTRE."  Even in victory, the news was not all good as Daily Variety via Reuters reported earlier today that 'Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2' debuts to franchise-low $101 million.

"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2" dominated the weekend box office with the final film in the science-fiction franchise debuting to $101 million.

That ranks as the year's fifth biggest opening, but it wasn't as big a sendoff for Katniss Everdeen and her fellow revolutionaries as some had predicted.

The massive bow falls short of tracking that projected the picture would top $120 million in its initial weekend in theaters. It also represents a low for the series, falling far short of the $158.1 million high-water mark established by 2013's "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire." It's a sign, perhaps, that interest in the dystopian world of Panem has crested.

The cresting of the youth dystopia wave is a topic I'll explore over the jump, along with other aspects of the series' legacy.  Those will come after the rest of the box office report.

The weakness of the new films allowed holdovers "Spectre" and "The Peanuts Movie" to pad their box office results. The latest Bond adventure added $14.6 million to its $153.7 million domestic haul, nabbing second place on the charts. "The Peanuts Movie" finished third, picking up $12.8 million to push its stated total to $98.9 million.

The "new films" mentioned were "The Night Before," which earned $10.1 million to come in fourth and "The Secret in Their Eyes," which grossed $6.6 million to eke out fifth place.  That last film may do better at the awards shows than the theaters, along with other films geared to an older audience.  Look for those to make their money on cable and streaming services.

Follow over the jump for reviews of the final installment of "The Hunger Games" from Vox and io9.

'SPECTRE' knocks 'The Martian' out of number one at the U.S. box office

I expressed my intention to skip reviewing last weekend's new releases in 'The Martian' returns to number one as most Halloween films bomb based on my expecting that they wouldn't be that good.  I was right, as New York Magazine's Vulture blog reported This Was the Worst Domestic Box Office Weekend of 2015.  The only new release to break the top five was the cooking film "Burnt," which came in fifth with only $5 million.  Against such weak competition, "The Martian" held on to the top spot.

Meanwhile, "Spectre" was setting records in the U.K.


Yes, James Bond beat Harry Potter for opening weekend.  How very British.

The expectation was that the latest Bond film would revive the U.S. box office when it opened.  It did, as Daily Variety reported in Box Office: ‘Spectre’ Tops ‘The Peanuts Movie’ With $73 Million.

James Bond and Charlie Brown brought the box office roaring back to life, as “Spectre” and “The Peanuts Movie” attracted big crowds over their opening weekends.

“Spectre,” the latest 007 adventure, took first place, debuting to $73 million from 3,929 theaters — a hefty figure and the second-highest debut in series history, but one that nevertheless trails the launch of “Skyfall.” The previous film in the long-running franchise bowed to $88.4 million, but enjoyed better reviews and benefited from being the only new wide release in its opening weekend. Going into the weekend, tracking suggested that the film would debut to $80 million, but the strength of “The Peanuts Movie” and some critical grousing about plot holes wide enough to drive an Aston Martin through may have depressed ticket sales.

One of the critics grousing about the movie was Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal.

"Spectre" is the newest James Bond film, starring Daniel Craig in his fourth turn as the famed spy. But can "Spectre" live up to expectations set by "Skyfall"? WSJ's Joe Morgenstern reviews. Photo: Sony Pictures

Oh, my, the answer to the question appears to be no.  Peter Suderman of Vox was even more scathing, declaring Spectre is the worst James Bond movie in years.  He damned the movie with faint praise before pulling out the knife with his thesis sentence: "Indeed, while the stunning opening sequence offers a succinct demonstration of all the ways a Bond movie can go right, what follows mostly serves to illustrate all the ways Bond movies can — and do — go wrong."  It's a long list.

I could find more poor reviews, but I'll move on after speculating that Sam Mendes may be using up all his best material on Penny Dreadful, which I jokingly call "James Bond, Vampire Hunter."  If so, that would be a shame.

Follow over the jump for the rest of the report and my commentary, including two Bond-related drink recipes from Tipsy Bartender.

'Spectre' trailer pays homage to classic Bond

I haven't blogged about James Bond since last December, when I posted Tales of two trailers: James Bond and Star Wars.  A new trailer came out last week, which gives me the perfect opportunity to write about my favorite honorary Crazy Eddie in cinema.

Without any further ado, I present the New SPECTRE Trailer.

Watch the new trailer for SPECTRE. A cryptic message from the past sends James Bond on a rogue mission to Mexico City and eventually Rome, where he meets Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci), the beautiful and forbidden widow of an infamous criminal. Bond infiltrates a secret meeting and uncovers the existence of the sinister organisation known as SPECTRE.

Meanwhile back in London, Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott), the new head of the Centre for National Security, questions Bond’s actions and challenges the relevance of MI6, led by M (Ralph Fiennes). Bond covertly enlists Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Whishaw) to help him seek out Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), the daughter of his old nemesis Mr White (Jesper Christensen), who may hold the clue to untangling the web of SPECTRE. As the daughter of an assassin, she understands Bond in a way most others cannot.

As Bond ventures towards the heart of SPECTRE, he learns of a chilling connection between himself and the enemy he seeks, played by Christoph Waltz.

Released in the UK on October 26, and in the US on November 6, 2015.

I caught a lot of references to Bond films from the 1960s through 1990s in the trailer.  I could list them myself, but I'm outsourcing them to Alltime Movies' SPECTRE Trailer | Top 5 Things We Learned.

It's here! The first full trailer for SPECTRE, and boy it's a doozy! Join Jamie as he analyzes the fine details and gleans everything we can learn about James Bond's new adventure.

I caught the "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" references in the score, too.  If so, then audiences might get a "save the world" plot the likes of which we haven't seen since "Die Another Day" in 2002.  The Daniel Craig Bond movies have been much more modest in scope.  Even if SPECTRE doesn't deliver on those implied stakes, I'm still looking forward to watching the movie and writing an an analysis like Crazy Eddie at the Movies 4--the science fiction in Skyfall becomes science fact.  Stay tuned.

Tales of two trailers: James Bond and Star Wars

For the Sunday entertainment entry I promised, I'm following up to one of the two trailers I mentioned two weeks ago and another one announced last week with two videos from Discovery News.

First, DNews explains Why We Can't Have Lightsabers.

The new trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released last week, and it got us thinking: Why can't we have lightsabers?

The lightsaber with the cross guard in the trailer certainly made an impression.

Follow over the jump for the latest news about the next James Bond film, along with another reaction from DNews.

Science fiction speaks to our current anxieties

I began Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday (Ebola outbreak) on Daily Kos with the stories that I used in Ebola outbreak now a top story.  Now to present the link and excerpt from a New York Times essay I used to end the diary, which does as good a job as any of explaining the serious purpose behind my Sunday collapse-and-decline entertainment entries:* Science Fiction Reflects Our Anxieties.

J. P. Telotte is a professor of film and media studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the author, most recently, of "Science Fiction TV."

The 1930s saw numerous science fiction films centered around apocalyptic, sometimes climatic, destruction: “La Fin du Monde” (France, 1931) predicted a comet’s collision with the Earth; “Deluge” (United States, 1933) was the story of a giant tsunami resulting in a worldwide flood; “Things to Come” (England, 1936) predicted world war and a civilization-destroying plague; “S.O.S. Tidal Wave” (United States, 1939) showed the destruction of America’s East Coast by massive tidal wave.

All these films were not as much forward-looking predictions of real apocalypse as they were metaphorical responses to the widespread economic and political crises of the day. Floods and plagues became stand-ins for contemporary upheaval, in this case a way to address the anxieties that attended the Great Depression and post-World War I shock.

This is what our genre films tend to do best — not detail the realities of specific problems so that we might avoid them, but rather represent our most pressing cultural anxieties.

Follow over the jump for another quote from the essay and examples of how I've explored the same themes.

Snowden asks for asylum, Chapman asks for Snowden

In the ongoing soap opera that is La Affair Snowden, the latest development is that he has applied for asylum in Russia again.  Russia Today, which in this case I think would be a reliable source, reports in Snowden asks Russia for asylum.

NSA leaker & former CIA employee Edward Snowden has asked for political asylum in Russia, saying he could not fly to Latin America, according to Human Rights Watch representative who met the whistleblower. Thirteen Russian and international human rights advocates and lawyers have gathered at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport for a meeting with Snowden.

I know at least one person who would be happy about this development, deported Russian spy and model Anna Chapman.  She tweeted her desires last week, which were captured by New York Magazine.


So she isn't Putin's mistress after all.  I'm disappointed.  On the other hand, Next Media Animation wasn't disappointed in the least.  This is exactly the kind of goofy sexy story that they specialize in, as they demonstrated with Edward Snowden receives proposal from spy Anna Chapman via twitter!

Edward Snowden received an unexpected surprise during his extended layover in a Moscow airport transit zone. Anna Chapman, the former Russian spy and current Russian model proposed to him via Twitter. Since her spying career came to its ignominious end in 2010, Chapman has reinvented herself as a TV host and model. Marrying Chapman might not be the worst choice for Snowden, who could use the Russian passport to finally get out of the airport.

"A match made in James Bond's fever dreams"--I'll say!  It's a crossover of "From Russia with Love" and "The Spy who Loved me" updated for the 21st Century with touches of "Goldeneye" and "Skyfall" for good measure.